Container filling machine



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CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE Filed May 16. 1930 -17 Sheets-Sheet l0 WK QTTORN'EYJ Aug. 18, 1936. R. A. JONES 2. 5 83 CONTAINER FIILLING MACHINE Filed May 16. 1930 '17 Sheets-Sheet 11 1936- R. A. JONES I CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE 17 Sheets- Sheet 12 FiledMay 16. 1950 INVENTOR .Aug.18,1936.

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CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE Filed May 16. 1950 17 Sheets- Sheet 15 W x mo Aug, 18, 1936.

- R. A. JONES 2,051,483

' CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE Filed May 16. 1930 17 Sheets-Sheet 16 INVENTOR Aug. 18, 1936. Y R. A. JONES 2,051,483

CONTAINER FILLING HACHIHE 'w Filed lay 16. 1936 17 Sheets-Sh eet 17 will/Ill INVENTOR Patented Aug. 18; 1936 I v CONTAINER FILLING MACHINE Ruel Anderson'Jones, Covington, Ky assignor to R. A. Jones & Company, Inc., Covington, Ky., a corporation of Kentucky Application May 16, 1930, Serial No. 452,908

7 2 Claims.

This invention relates to automatic machinery and is particularly directed to a machine for rapidly filling containers such as envelopes, sacks or bags with either a single article or a plurality of articles of merchandise, such as letters, cakes, powder pufi's, etc. The type of container particularly adapted to be handled by this machine is of envelope i'orm providing an open side for receiving the goods and a flap for closing the receiving side of the container, these containers being presented to the machine in fiat stacked relation in a magazine.

The machine has been disclosed for loading a plurality of cakes or biscuits into an envelope or sack, the cakes as grouped being provided oi various shapes and sizes. A relatively thin paper bag has been disclosed. It will be understood, however, that the nature and shape of the merchandise loaded is immaterial as well as the texture of the envelope. The machine is extremely efiicient in the handling of light paper envelopes and fragile articles and is therefore applied in this instance as the extreme problem for an automatic filling machine.

The flat containers are successively drawn from a magazine and carried at spaced intervals on a rotating carrier, this carrier having an intermittent motion for appropriate pauses to permit coordinating mechanism to extract a single envelope at each stop from the receiving end of the magazine and to also pause at the various operating stations located radially about the carrier, namely, an opening and spreading station incorporating a device for widening the sack opening, an article assembling station and coacting mechanism for loading the grouped articles or a single article into the envelopes, and a discharge station at which last mentioned station the loaded containers are discharged into an intermittently moving conveying device including at this point the means for adhesively coating the flaps and rolling the same for an eflicient closing of the container.

- It is an object of this invention to provide a reciprocating magazine for feeding a stack of envelopes disposed therein into the region of the carrier, this magazine moving in synchronism with the rotary carrier and a gripping mecha: nism thereon for successively and positively extracting a single envelope from the magazine and attaching it upon the carrier at each pause or the carrier and reciprocation of the magazine.

'I'herotary carrier is provided with 'a plurality o! the extracting devices, it being observed that there is one extracting device'ior each of the four stations surrounding the carrier so that upon each pause of the rotary carrier a gripping or extracting device is in position to operate upon the endmost envelope of the stack in the magazine.

Another object is to provide cooperatng devices at the next station, before which the intermittently. moving carrier pauses for. opening the envelope and to envelope spreading means above each gripping means for further maintaining and 10 locking the envelope in open condition for subsequent transportation by carrier movement to a filling or loading station. The envelope opening device at this fixed opening station may include a gripping means engaging the outer wall 15 of the envelope for separating o'r pulling apart the respective sides of the envelope, a coa'cting finger engaging and initially turning back or clearing the flap for subsequent engagement by the flap engaging means of the spreader device, a plunger for inserting the envelope spreading "de' vice into the envelope and a finger for actuating and setting the spreading device.

Another object is to provide an article assembling mechanism at the next station for stacking a plurality of articles of merchandise from a plurality of magazines on a loading platform and to a cooperating movement providing that the assembled articles are transported to the region above the open envelope positively and to a loading'device coacting with the transporting device for inserting the articles in the envelopes without damageto the articles or the envelopes, as the envelope is brought .or carried to this loading station from the envelope opening station. It is a further objective, in connection with the primary loading features of the machine, to provide the above mentioned assembling means as an auxiliary which may be arbitrarily included in the machine when desired for grouping a set of articles otvaried form and size from their respective magazines and arranging them in stacked position for subesquent movement thereof, in a group, by the transporting device to the region of the envelope for depositing the group in the open envelope.

Another object is to provide a device for releasing the envelope' spreading means which spreading means. has sustained the loaded and i open envelope through the rotative movement of the carrier,-this' release mechanism being located at the discharge stationior depositing each successively filled envelope into areciprocating transpar- 5 mechanism for folding the flap of the envelope against the body of the envelope and cooperating with the glue applying means for adhesively attaching the flap against the body of the envelope.

The last mentioned flapfolding device acts to align the flap edge of the envelope for feed between the elements of a flap rolling device. The foregoing mechanisms apply the glue to the underside of the flap and immediately thereafter place the closed edge of the envelope between the elements of the rolling device for pressing or rolling the flap to firmly set the same. Thus another object is to provide a combin transporting and flap folding means whereby the successively discharged filled envelopes are carried in spaced relation and subjected for the proper time during the transporting period to.a rolling action and subsequently entirely discharged irom the machine.

Another objectis to provide an extremely. compact automatic machine for accomplishing the foregoing successive operations for filling enve1- opes, in which machine the operative parts are efilciently co-related and synchronized. This objective includes the provision of a rotary carrier having the various stations embodying the respective mechanisms for acting on the envelope radially disposed thereabout and furthermore includes the provision of. a hollow shaft for the rotary carrier, wherein, for compactness operating rods are brought up centrally through the ma-' chine to actuate various radially disposed devices functioning on the envelope as previously described.

Other objects and certain advantages relate to the various means for operating the rotary car rier and all the devices in synchronism whereby there are a number of envelopes passing through.

Figure 2 is a side elevation oi the machine looking toward that side thereof embodying the envelope opening devices.-

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the machine looking toward the article loading station, a portion of the mechanism being removed to more clearly illustrate the interior of the machine.

Figure 4 is-a slightly enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4, Figure 1, detailing the engripping means on the carrier functioning to exvelope magazine and illustrating an envelope tract an envelope and also illustrating the diametrically opp s te article inserting mechanism located at the third station ofv the rotary carrier functioning to insert articles in an opened envelope.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5- 5, Figure 4', illustrating one -01 the radially disposed gripping devices on the carrier extracting a single envelope from the magazine and attracting it to the carrier; the construction of the rotary carrier; and the means initially opening the envelope at the next or envelope spreading station.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 84, Figure 5, further detailing the rotary carrier as well as the embodied exhaust passageways extending to the suction or gripping devices. and the valve cooperating with the carrier, for con-. trolling the suction.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 1-1, Figure 6, further detailing the rotary carrier.

Figure 8 is a bottom view oi the valve element which controls the suction in the carrier, a portion of the valve being broken away and shown in section to illustrate the interior thereof;

Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view taken below the carrier element for detailing the valve in its assembled position as well as the means for operating the same; this view additionally illustrating the envelope opening device at the second station in section and in fully retracted position 20 with the suction relieved.

Figure 10 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line l0l0, Figure 2, illustrating the devices and their respective operatlngmeans at the sec- 0nd or envelope opening and spreading station of 25 the machine.

Figure 11 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view illustrating the envelope opening and flap clearing device in retracted position after having separated the sides of the envelope, the 30 envelope illustrated in position on a set spreading device of the rotary carrier which device is to transport the envelope through the filling station.

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken on line 35' l2-l2, Figure 11, further detailing the mechanism for spreading the envelope. Figure 13 is a general sectional view of the-machine taken on line l3ll, Figure 3, illustrating the envelope loading plunger in retracted position, the swinging transport bucket in position above the envelope and the supported opened envelope in position beneath the plunger and transport bucket for receiving the articles of merchandise.

Figure 14 is a fragmentary sectionalvlew taken on line ll-il, Figure 1. illustrating the respective plungers for lowering the envelope spreading a means at the second station and for raising the same at the discharge or i'ourthstation after the release of the envelope to elevate the spreading means to the level of a track for ineiiective movement of the spreading means on the rail past the envelope pick-up station, and back to the second station.

Figure 15 is adetail view looking toward an envelope spreading device dwelling at the discharge station and showing it in'tripped or released position with tijfiienyelope receiving transport disposed therebeh "th.

chine taken on substantially the same line on 65 Figure 1 as Figure '4, illustrating, thedetails of various operating levers and cams at the under-' side or the machine, the transmission {or V the rotary carrier, and the general arrangement at the centeroi the machine. V r

Figure 18 is a plan view are portion of the machlne, illustrating the plurality of article magazines above the third station, the device for moving the assembled articles to the open envelope 1;

and the envelope spreader tripping means and transport at the fourth station.

Figure 19 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line l9l 9, Figure 18, further detailing the mechanism shown in Figure 18, and showing the slide means for inserting the group of articles in the swinging transport bucket in retracted position.

Figure 20 is a sectional view taken on line 20-20, Figure 19, further detailing the grouping mechanism.

Figure 21 is a sectional view taken similar to I Figure 19, but showing the assembly sliding device actuated to move the assembled articles into the swinging transport bucket.

Figure 22 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 22--22, Figure 3, illustrating the means for tripping the envelope spreading device at the fourth or discharge station, the transport moving the discharged or released filled envelope to the flap gluing and folding station and a swinging abutment for insuring the proper placement of the envelope in the transport when it arrives before the flap gluing and folding means.

Figure 23 is a sectional view taken on line 23-23, Figure 22, illustrating the flap gluing and folding device moving forward to operate on an envelope in the transport.

Figure 24 is a sectional view taken on substantially the same line as Figure 23, certain parts being removed and the section line slightly varied for further illustrating the mechanism.

Figure 25 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the machine illustrating the details of the gluing and flap folding device andshowing the device acting on an envelope.

Figure 26 is a sectional view taken on line 2526, Figure 25, further detailing the gluing and flap folding device showing the device functioning to tuck the'envelope flap edge ina form and guide at the mouth of the discharge conveyor and flap rolling device.

Figure 27 is a fragmentary top plan view, considerably enlarged, showing the flap folding device in detail.

Figure 28 is a detail sectional view taken along the inner side of the discharge conveyor and rolling device, illustrating the same and the intermittent movement means for operating the same.

Figure 29 is an outer end view of the discharge conveyor and rolling device, illustrating the transmission for drivingthe same.

Figure 30 is an enlarged detail view of the intake end of the discharge conveyor and flap rolling device showing an envelope entering the same.

Generally described, the machine includes coordinated mechanical components on a circumferential work line and on a rotary carrier or turntable by means of which various functions are performed by the cooperating devices at four radially disposed stations. There are certain mechanical movements or devices at these four fixed radial points on the circumferential work line coordinating with devices on the rotating carrier, which moves intermittently on the work 'line and dwells simultaneously before all stations, moving'up one station at each rotation.

The turntable transports not only the envelope but cooperating movements or devices which are serially coordinated with the orbitally disposed ing of the rotary carrier does not merely consti tube the means for disposing the envelope tothe action of mechanisms at each station but upon these dwells or pauses the mechanism on the carrier coordinates with the mechanism at the station to complete four distinct but serially related mechanical units.

The machine, broadly describing its four stations and referring to the drawings, comprises a rotary carrier M which is intermittently rotated with each period of dwell disposing four active points of the carrier before four stations simultaneously. Each pause of the rotary carrier places a radially disposed envelope gripper 32 and a spreader device 83, which d vices are each present at eachof the four poin s of the carrier, before each station. The envelope grippers and spreading devices progress and function or are acted upon serially relative to the stations. The devices on each radial arm or active point of the rotary carrier cooperate at each station with other mechanisms which are said to be complementary to the devices of the rotary carrier.

The stations regarded in the order in which a 'given envelope progresses around the circular work line as defined by the rotary carrier are: a first or envelope pick-up station at which an envelope is seized by the carrier 3|; 9. second or envelope spreading station, a which the envelope is opened; a third or filling, tation, at which the envelope in its open condition is filled; and a fourth or discharging station, at which the envelope is released from the rotary carrier and entirely discharged from association therewith.

As an adjunct to the third station which is the filling station, an article assembling station may be provided, whereby a plurality of articles of various shapes and sizes'may be stacked'and inforgripping the endmost envelope of the maga zine, and attaching it to the rotary carrier.

A quarter turn of the rotary carrier 3| next places the picked up envelope at the envelope opening and speeding station, where the spreader device 33 on that particular extension of the rotary carrier is operated to enter the envelope being acted upon by a cooperating or complementary mechanism 35 at this station for initially and momentarily opening the envelope, and a complementary mechanism 36 for holding .back the flap of the envelope to aid in the entrance of the spreader device 33 .into the envelope.

At the third station, which is reached by the next quarter turn, the envelope being supported by the spreader device 33 in open position, the

merchandise is swung from an assembling station by means of a swinging transport bucket 31, brought into the region over the opened envelope and urged into the envelope by a plunger 38 00-. operating with the bucket device, which brings the merchandise into this region, for positively inserting the merchandise in the envelope.

The assembling mechanism adjo in 11 1 8.51

tion comprises a plurality of vertically disposed magazines each of which has a slide 40 moving horizontally and transversely relative to its base,

. serted in a device which transports the stacked 

